Answer Man: On Highway T near Bois D’Arc, there is a very old home with an historical marker in front of it. The marker identifies it as the Frame-Bouling house. The house and grounds seem to need sprucing up. What can you tell me about the house? — Scott Martini, of Springfield

The sign says the house was built in 1869 — four years after Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox courthouse.

The house was designated a historical site in 1992. It was built by Samuel Parker Frame. He and his family moved from Indiana to Greene County in 1869. He bought 500 acres, on which he built the two-story brick Italianate-style house. He was a farmer, merchandiser and lumber dealer.

The home has had few evident alterations, according to the society. The bricks were handmade. Many well-to-do Greene County farmers built similar homes in the years after the Civil War.

But the society information also states the house is "very well preserved."

I don't know when that was written. But the house, although charming, didn't look "very well preserved" when I stopped by Thursday.

The address is 11515 W. Highway T; it's about one mile west of Bois D'Arc.

I'm sure, Scott, that in answering your question you expect me to do more than look at a website and then snap a photo.

I realize that. So I knocked on the door and Catherine Grady answered. She's the owner and lives there.

She tells me that in 2008, she purchased the house from descendants of the Bouling family. I was unable to reach them.

At the time, Grady had moved to Bois D'Arc from St. Louis because her daughter was attending Missouri State University and her daughter had horses. Grady wanted a house with land in a rural setting. The house sits on five acres, she says.

"I like the look of it," she says. "I think it is a pretty house. I like the symmetry of it. I like the shape of it. I like the fact that it has endured all this time."

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Answer Man: There is a historical marker outside a house near Bois D'Arc. What do you know about its history?(Photo11: Steve Pokin/News-Leader)

She no longer has horses. And she no longer operates a hobby farm on the property. She had raised and sold miniature donkeys and miniature goats.

"They cost me more than I was making selling them," she says.

The house has three bedrooms, about 1,800 square feet, one bathroom and is in need of a lot of maintenance and repair, she says.

Does it have heat and air conditioning?

Yes and no, she says. It's a struggle to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.

"The electrical is a big issue," she says.

The house needs a new roof. The well which supplies water needs work, she says.

Grady tells me she is looking for employment. She declined to say how much she paid for the house; she also graciously declined to tell me her age or to be photographed.

The Greene County Assessor's office values the property at $57,300.

The bottom line, she says, is this: "I like old houses."

Keep those questions coming. Send them to The Answer Man at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail at 651 N. Boonville, Springfield, MO 65806.